Page 351 - Six Sigma Demystified

Part 3 S i x S i g m a To o l S 331

When to Use

Define Stage
• Document top-level process.

• Identify shareholders.

Measure Stage

• Document lower levels of process.
• Uncover varied shareholder perceptions.

Analyze Stage

• Discover process complexities, responsible agents, and locations that con-
tribute to variation or longer cycle times.

Improve Stage

• Communicate proposed changes.

Control Stage
• Document revised process.

Methodology
As in the flowchart, each task will be represented by a symbol. ANSI standard
symbols may be used, but most practitioners use rectangles for most tasks and
diamonds for decision tasks. Decisions should have only two outcomes (yes or

no), so decision points must be phrased in this manner.
We can use the process map to document the current (as-is) process. See
Figure F.32. We can use symbol shade or shape to indicate process delays,
functional responsibility for each step (e.g., the small gray inverted triangle
is customer service), or points in the process where measurements are
taken.
Location of process steps on the map is indicated by swim lanes, used to
indicate physical layout, responsible department, stakeholder, schedule, or
other condition for each process activity.
Figure F.32 is an example of a process map using Sigma Flow software. In
this case, the swim lanes provide an indication of department responsible (i.e.,
customer service, customer processing, or production).